We recently found a report that we wanted to share because it shows the extent that the Los Angeles School Police Department are involved in policing our youth, especially Black and Brown youth.
If you notice in the graphic, the Los Angeles School Police Department is over involved with black students, relative to their portion of the student population and is about equally involved with Latinx students relative to their overall student population in the district. One quarter of the Los Angeles School Police arrests and interactions involved black students.
The report also showed that one in four arrests Los Angeles School Police Department were of elementary and middle school aged youth.
Studies show that youth who have contact with the police are more likely to continue to have encounters with the justice system throughout their lives. Los Angeles operates the largest jail system in the world, with more than 17,000 people on average incarcerated nightly in county prisons and city jails.
This report highlights the need to rethink punishment in the schools and why Black students in particular have been overrepresented in contacts with the school police.
We are all in this together with you. We want to be a resource for you and for all of the children you love. Whether you need some info or you have info to share, you know where to go…LA Comadre.